A fuse has been conventionally used to protect an electric circuit mounted to a motor vehicle or the like and various electric components connected to the electric circuit. Specifically, when unintended excess current flows in the electric circuit, a fusing part of the fuse fuses due to heat generated by excess current and protects so as not to allow excess current to flow to the various electric components.
There are known many types of fuses, such as a fuse 500 depicted in FIGS. 7(a) and 7(b) of Patent Literature 1.
As depicted in FIGS. 7(a) and 7(b), the fuse 500 according to Patent Literature 1 includes a fuse element 530 having a plate shape and provided with a fusing part 520, and an insulating housing 540 covering the fuse element 530. The fuse 500 is produced by attaching the fuse element 530 to the insulating housing 540 such that the fuse element 530 is inserted from an open end 550 provided at the bottom of the insulating housing 540.
In a case where, for example, a plurality of fuses 500 is packed and the bottom of the insulating housing 540 of each of the fuses 500 remains open, a terminal of a different one of the fuses may enter the insulating housing 540 from the open end 550 and damage the fusing part 520.
As depicted in FIG. 7(b), the fuse 500 is provided with a flap 560 closing the open end 550 at the bottom so as to protect the fusing part 520. This flap 560 is provided by bending part of the insulating housing 540 so as to close the open end 550. As depicted in FIG. 7(a), a locking claw 531 is provided inside each terminal 510 in order to prevent the bent flap 560 from returning to an unbent state.
The fuse 500 according to Patent Literature 1, however, additionally requires the step of bending the flap to provide the flap 560 as well as a measure to prevent the bent flap from returning to the unbent state.